The present invention relates to electronic timepieces and data transmission methods for electronic timepieces, suited, for example, to timepiece apparatuses such as analog timepieces.
As electronic timepieces, analog electronic timepieces for moving hands by applying a driving signal to a driving motor coil (driving coil) have been conventionally widely known. In these analog timepieces, a driving motor coil used for hand movement also serves as a data receiving coil, and a standard-time signal sent from an external standard-time generating apparatus is received through the driving motor coil to adjust accuracy in a timepiece unit (disclosed, for example, in Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. Sho-58-7190).
In some analog timepieces, a driving motor coil also serves as a data transmitting coil (disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei-6-258464). In the analog timepieces, hand movement is stopped while data is transmitted, and the hands are moved quickly to correct the time after data transmission.
In timepieces which transmit data to the outside among those using the conventional technologies, hand movement is stopped and a driving motor coil is used as a transmission coil while data is transmitted. Therefore, the timepieces need to determine whether data is being transmitted and need to have a time recovery circuit for storing the number of generated pulses of a driving signal during a transmission mode. Therefore, the structures of the timepieces become complicated.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above condition. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic timepiece and a data transmission method for an electronic timepiece which allow data to be transmitted with a simple circuit structure.
A first mode of the present invention is characterized by comprising an oscillation circuit for generating a reference oscillating signal; a dividing circuit for dividing the reference oscillating signal generated by the oscillation circuit and for outputting a divided oscillating signal; a driving-signal generating circuit for generating a driving pulse signal according to the divided oscillating signal output from the dividing circuit; a driving coil for driving a unit to be driven, by the driving pulse signal output from the driving-signal generating circuit; a data storage unit for storing data to be transmitted; and a transmission unit comprising a data-transmission-signal pulse generating circuit for generating a data transmission signal according to the divided oscillating signal output from the dividing circuit and the data stored in the data storage means, for transmitting the data transmission signal to an external data transmitting and receiving apparatus through the driving coil.
A second mode of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first mode of the present invention, the driving-signal generating circuit comprises a first switching element connected between one end of the driving coil and a first power line, a second switching element connected between the other end of the driving coil and the first power line, a third switching element connected between the one end of the driving coil and a second power line, and a fourth switching element connected between the other end of the driving coil and the second power line, and the first switching element and the fourth switching element are turned on at the same time, or the second switching element and the third switching element are turned on at the same time, to make a current flow to transmit the data transmission signal.
A third mode of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first mode or the second mode of the present invention, the transmission unit transmits the data transmission signal to the external data transmitting and receiving apparatus through the driving coil between pulses of the driving pulse signal generated by the driving-signal generating circuit at an almost constant interval.
A fourth mode of the present invention is characterized in that, in the third mode of the present invention, the data transmission signal is synchronized with the driving pulse signal, and is transmitted to the external data transmitting and receiving apparatus at a predetermined timing after the driving pulse signal is output.
A fifth mode of the present invention is characterized, in the first mode or the second mode of the present invention, by further comprising an operation input unit with which the user inputs an instruction, and characterized in that the transmission unit transmits data to the external data transmitting and receiving apparatus when a predetermined instruction is input through the operation input unit.
A sixth mode of the present invention is characterized in that, in the fifth mode of the present invention, the transmission unit switches the mode to a data transmission mode and transmits data to the external data transmitting and receiving apparatus when the predetermined instruction is input through the operation input unit, and the transmission unit releases the data transmission mode to stop the data transmission when a predetermined instruction corresponding to stopping the data transmission is input through the operation input unit during the data transmission mode.
A seventh mode of the present invention is characterized, in the first mode of the present invention, by further comprising a calling-signal detecting unit for detecting a calling signal output from the external data transmitting and receiving apparatus, through the driving coil, and characterized in that the transmission unit transmits data to the external data transmitting and receiving apparatus when the calling-signal detecting unit detects the calling signal.
An eighth mode of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first mode of the present invention, the unit to be driven is an analog timepiece unit which achieves a timepiece operation by using analog hands.
A ninth mode of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first mode of the present invention, the data stored in the data storage unit is operation information data of the electronic timepiece.
A tenth mode of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first mode of the present invention, the data stored in the data storage unit is either identification data unique to the unit to be driven or individual data of the user.
In an eleventh mode of the present invention, a data transmission method for an electronic timepiece having an oscillation circuit for generating a reference oscillating signal; a dividing circuit for dividing the reference oscillating signal generated by the oscillation circuit and for outputting a divided oscillating signal; a driving-signal generating circuit for generating a driving pulse signal according to the divided oscillating signal output from the dividing circuit; a driving coil for driving a unit to be driven, by the driving pulse signal output from the driving-signal generating circuit; and a data storage unit for storing data to be transmitted, is characterized in that a data transmission signal is generated according to the divided oscillating signal output from the dividing circuit and the data stored in the data storage unit, and the data transmission signal is transmitted to an external data transmitting and receiving apparatus through the driving coil between pulses of the driving pulse signal generated by the driving-signal generating circuit at an almost constant interval.